“We’ve been in a bunch of close games this year and we’ve made plays when we had to in those games,’’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “We knew we had tough games through the year. I think this is what will help us.’’

But secondly, SU’s 1-point win over the 19th-ranked Cardinals showed just how thin the line between success and failure can be, especially during the madness of March.

“You’re going to get into games like this in the tournament,’’ Boeheim said. “I don’t care who you are. You’ve got to be ready to make those plays at the end of games. If they make a play, hit one shot at the end of the game, we lose. In the tournament, you go home.’’

Syracuse, ranked No. 2 in the country, is now 26-1 for the season and 13-1 in the Big East. But the Orange is no dominant force. Early in the season, Syracuse trailed at the half against both Virginia Tech and Stanford at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse held off Florida 72-68 at the Carrier Dome.

Among Syracuse’s last five games are a 2-point win over West Virginia, an overtime win over Georgetown and Monday’s 1-point win at Louisville.

“We’re a pretty good team,’’ said Boeheim, “but we could be sitting on 21-5 and I wouldn’t be that shocked.’’

“When you can win a game like this, you’re confident going into the tournament,’’ Jardine said. “You’re going to have these type of games, but you can gut it out. We’ve been in this type of situation before in our league. We might have a game like this in the tournament. We just want to continue to gut it out and win games.’’

C.J. Fair, SU’s sophomore forward, agreed with Jardine.

“These games are the games that you need to win to be a championship team,’’ Fair said.

Boeheim said the experience of playing in tough games during the regular season can help steel a team for the post-season, but only to a point.

“I guess what I’m saying is although this helps you, you can have five of these games in a row and win all five and the sixth game, you could have this same game and you lose,’’ Boeheim said. “And somebody will say you didn’t have enough of them. We’ve had them. A lot of these games and you can have more of these games, but when you get in a tournament situation, it’s just one little play.’’

Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters said the Orange can learn how to perform under pressure.

“This is the type of game you want where you learn to face adversity,’’ Waiters said. “I’d rather have this game now than in the tournament.’’

But the NCAA Tournament is rife with difficult games. A No. 1 seed could face a No. 4 seed in a Sweet 16 game. That No. 4 seed is by definition a Top 16 team, but if the top-seed loses, its fan base – with a Final Four or bust mentality – will struggle to comprehend the loss.

“You’re going to play teams like Louisville and teams that are just as good or better,’’ Boeheim said. “You’re going to be in these games. That’s college basketball. It’s going to be a play. A play or two one way or the other that’s going to keep you going or not.

“There’s just almost no way anymore that teams are going to be able to get through this tournament; maybe a game or two at the most, maybe not even a second game, without being tested,’’ added Boeheim.

Take an NCAA Tournament bracket. Now give it a quarter-turn. It looks similar to a house of cards. A team’s tournament potential is as fragile as that house of cards.

“Last year, it was clearly in my mind, no doubt, that Kansas and Ohio State were the best teams in the country and they didn’t get to the Final Four,’’ Boeheim said. “It’s just difficult now. It used to be the one or two clearly best teams in the country, they got to the Final Four. Now, it’s not like that anymore. It’s very difficult.’’